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TORONTO -- Toronto FC players practised Wednesday before scattering to make the most of four days off thanks to a bye this weekend. The MLS clubs braintrust also has big plans. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment boss Tim Leiweke, club GM Tim Bezbatchenko and manager Ryan Nelsen head to Europe later this week in search of marquee players. With the renewal deadline for season ticket-holders pushed back to January, it could be one of the most important hunts for talent in the underachieving franchises seven-year history. Leiweke told a recent supporters breakfast that the itinerary includes "a half-dozen players and teams." The focus is on players with English Premier League and Italian Serie A clubs. "The days of us putting our toe in the water and trying to find a cheap DP (designated player) are over. Were going to go swing for the fences," said the man who brought David Beckham to MLS. "Well see you in January. Because by then we either will have delivered or failed you again," he added. "Im not interested in seeing you in January and failing you again. Its time we started doing things right." Top of the list are two strikers, to be signed as designated players. "Of course we have our targets that we want to sign," Nelsen said after practice Wednesday. "Well be putting our head down and trying to get them." Players out of contract this summer can be signed six months in advance of that, so news could come in the January window. But Nelsen cautioned that wooing a player can take time. "In my experience of being in the situation myself, being on the other side of it, it generally takes a bit of time," he said. "But Id come back to you and say we might have already started that a few months ago." Still the good ones take the most time to romance, he added. Chances are this trip will be only part of the sales pitch. Designated players allow MLS clubs to sign marquee talent without throwing their US$2.95-million salary cap into disarray. Only $368,750 of a DPs salary counts against the cap, less if the player is young ($150,000 for a player 20 and younger and $200,000 for a player aged 21 to 23). TFCs current DPs -- both injured -- are 34-year-old Dutch striker Danny Koevermans, whose actual salary is $1.66 million, and 21-year-old Argentine midfielder Matias Laba ($200,000). Clubs are allowed two designated player slots and can buy a third slot for a one-time fee of $150,000 (the fee is waived if the third roster slot is for a young DP). Past DPs in Toronto were Canadian international midfielder Julian de Guzman, Spanish striker Mista, French forward Eric Hassli and former German international midfielder Torsten Frings. Mista was a bust while De Guzman was a decent player who didnt deserve DP status. Hassli was a panic pickup in the face of growing injuries up front. Frings, a former club captain, was a classy former international whose considerable influence was slowed by injury. He also often had to play out of position because the Toronto talent cupboard was so bare. Of the current crop, Koevermans impact has also been blunted by injury. When healthy, the big Dutchman was a scoring threat in MLS. But he has been rarely fit, with a flurry of minor niggles following serious knee surgery. Laba seems a good use of the young DP. But none have combined the kind of success on the pitch and influence off it that Leiweke considers the DP job description to entail. Toronto also chose not to bestow DP status on Canadian attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who went on to win MVP honours elsewhere. "Weve done a bad job with DPs here. Period," Leiweke said. Said Bezbatchenko: "Clearly when you look at our team, we have not had goal-scorers. Proven world-class goal-scorers." The number-crunching GM estimates an MLS team needs between 46 and 55 goals a year to get into the playoffs. Toronto, which has 29 goals with two games to go this season, has averaged between 30 and 35. While the Toronto franchise has a history of underperforming and poor management, it does have many selling points. MLSE has lots to offer as an owner, with deep pockets and big league properties. Toronto is a safe cosmopolitan city that offers its soccer players relative anonymity compared to the fishbowl that is the European game. And while BMO Field is a hardly a jewel of a stadium, the clubs training facility is top-drawer. Leiweke is a slick closer with a good track record. The newly retired Nelsen has an impressive Rolodex thanks to his years of playing in the Premier League and connections through the New Zealand national team. No doubt he has used it to good effect. Nelsen, who still has a home in London from his days with Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers, is likely to stay a little longer in Europe to take in next Tuesdays friendly between Canada and Australia at Londons Craven Cottage. Canadian coach Benito Floro has called up four Toronto FC players for the game: defenders Ashtone Morgan and Doneil Henry and midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Kyle Bekker. The rest of TFC players are set to return to training Monday, in advance of their penultimate game of the season Oct. 19 at Chicago. The club badly needs to restore its relevance. Attendance has been slipping. Once the poster-boy of the league for its crammed stands and season-ticket waiting list, Toronto is drawing season-low crowds. Toronto (5-16-11) currently stands 10th in the 19-team league with average attendance of 18,439. Alarmingly, the last three home games have drawn announced crowds of 15,879 (D.C. United), 12,627 (Sporting Kansas City) and 15,217 (Chicago). Media coverage has also waned. Wednesdays practice drew one reporter. NOTES -- Captain Steven Caldwell has returned to Scotland due to death in the family ... Midfielders Bobby Convey, Darel Rusell and Alvaro Rey missed practice Wednesday through injury ... Goalkeeper Joe Bendik (two yellows in Philadelphia) and midfielder Jeremy Hall (accumulation of yellows) are suspended for next weeks Chicago game. Earl Campbell Jersey . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground. Jurrell Casey Jersey . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Warren-moon-titans-jersey/ . Johnson shared an update after his surgery Tuesday on Twitter. He also wrote, "now lets get on the grind." The running back told The Tennessean he was having surgery in Pensacola, Fla. Tennessee Titans Jerseys . And, just for good measure, lets say the lottery team finishes the game short-handed because two starters come down with the very same injury. Curley Culp Jersey . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds. MILWAUKEE -- Khris Davis bat splintered after making solid contact with the pitch and he started running. He didnt know where the ball landed, but suddenly his fellow Milwaukee Brewers were rushing him at first base. He got doused with a celebratory cup of water and quickly figured out what happened. Davis hit a game-ending, two run single to centre with the bases loaded in the ninth off Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon for a 4-3 win Thursday. "I was just looking around and all of a sudden my teammates were running at me," the second-year left fielder said about the postgame celebration and impromptu shower. "I just took it with a good smile, glad I could help win." A nine-game homestand ended on a high note for the surprising Brewers, who maintained their five-game lead over St. Louis in the NL Central and got their fourth win in five games. It was a big confidence boost especially for Davis, a young slugger who struggled the last few weeks but has showed signs of breaking out of his slump. His average had dipped to .212 before going 4 for 9 in three games against the Pirates. Does this make him "Klutch" Davis? "Im not big on nicknames, but it sounds good," Davis said with a laugh. "Why not?" The comeback spoiled the return of Pirates starter Wandy Rodriguez from the disabled list with right knee inflammation. Rodriguez allowed solo homers to Rickie Weeks and Martin Maldonado but struck out four in his first start since April 19. Gaby Sanchezs solo homer off Yovani Gallardo in the sixth snapped a 2-2 tie to give the Pirates the lead until Melancon (1-2) broke down in the ninth. Subbing for injured closer Jason Grilli, Melancon had converted his four previous save opportunities. Ryan Braun led off the ninth by singling. Melancon walked the next two hitters to load the bases with nobody out. "Hes a human being and just didnt have his best stuff today. The walks are uncharacteristic," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Hes been here for a while, and thats something we havent seen." Up came Davis,, who smashed his broken-bat hit to drive in Braun and Jonathan Lucroy.dddddddddddd Melancon had given up just one walk in 19 previous appearances this season before Thursdays meltdown. "I just put myself in a bad spot," Melancon said. The Pirates nearly came through with a win for Rodriguez, who fared much better Thursday than during two rehab starts in the minors. The veteran left-handed posted a 10.38 ERA with Double-A Altoona. "I dont pay attention to my speed. I pay more attention to how I located the ball," Rodriguez said. "I only made two mistakes today." Weeks homered the other way into the right-field corner off a 2-1 slider in the third to extend the second basemans hitting streak to eight. He finished 3 for 4. Rodriguez entered with a 7.65 ERA, while Melancon had a 1.42 ERA. In the end, the Brewers ended up having more success against the closer. Reliever Rob Wooten (1-1) threw 1-1-3 scoreless innings. Gallardo allowed five hits, three runs and two walks, and struck out six in 6 1-3 innings. Gallardo "did a nice job," manager Ron Roenicke said. "He made one mistake on a high slider, but I thought he threw well. He kept us in there, and we scratched." The short-handed Brewers went a second day without star outfielder Carlos Gomez, who is nursing a sore back while serving a three-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing brawl between the teams April 20 in Pittsburgh. The Pirates Tony Sanchez had a two-run homer in the fifth, his first of the year. Notes: The Brewers announced that Premier League team Swansea and Mexican club Chivas would meet July 16 for the first professional soccer match at Miller Park. ... Roenicke said Gomez was feeling much better Thursday. Gomez left Tuesdays game with the injury, and his dropped his appeal of the suspension the next day. Gomez is eligible to return Saturday against the Cubs. ... Milwaukee opens the three-game set Friday in Chicago with starter Kyle Lohse (4-1). The Pirates start Edinson Volquez (1-3) to open a series Friday in New York against the Yankees. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys discount uswnt jersey Wholesale AC Milan Jerseys Wholesale Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. 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